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ILMC, Zhuhai - Hour 1 It looks like the Peugeots get away cleanly, but McNish gets by Montagny with Bernhard getting by the #8 908 too. Gimmi Bruni is amongst the Audi R8s that started ahead of him. Montagny doesn't seem able to stay with the Audis at present, but is able to hold off the initially-very-close attention of Neel Jani. Contact between the #56 BMW and Tim Mullen's CRS 430 is under investigation - Bruni meanwhile is ahead of the #98 R8 of Mortara. The leaders come into traffic on their Lap 7 and that allows the Audis to close right in on the leader, McNish looking for a way by. The #94 Hitotsuyama Audi pits after dropping right back down the field - there's a chunk of debris just by the side of the track too at T5.
It's from the rear left of the #2 Audi - the legality panel and more, after contact with Ortelli's Luxury 458! The top three battle is covered by less than a second and that's allowing Montagny to draw closer - a five second gap on Lap 6 down to around three seconds by Lap 10. The GTE Pro battle is under a second too - Bruni right with Muller. Bernhard meanwhile is right with Bourdais now as McNish drops back just a little. Mortara's R8 has dropped right back and it seems the polesetting GTC #94 Hitotsuyama R8 may be a retirement. Bernhard moves by McNish as the cars complete Lap 12 - Audi preparing to pit the #2 car perhaps? Bernhard takes the opportunity to draw ever closer to Bourdais in traffic as the leading quartet get very close together. Bernhard goes to the outside, holds track position and toughs it out to take the inside line and the lead; Bourdais is forced to lift and that allows McNish by too - an Audi 1,2! Bourdais loses a further position to his team-mate too - first to fourth in two corners for the #7 908.
The GTE Am battle is also around half a second - Mullen's CRS Ferrari holding off the Larbre Corvette of Olivier Beretta. Beretta though is under pressure from Richard Lietz, the Corvette man forced to defend, and that's allowing Mullen to take advantage and pull away. McNish leads as Bernhard stumbles over a GTE battle. #2 leads #1 with the Audis pulling away rapidly from the Peugeots, Montagny 4.8 seconds back from the leader with Bourdais a further two seconds back on Lap 25. Trouble for Marco Cioci in the #61 AF Corse 430 - the car lapping very slowly and cruising back to the pits. Mucke pits the #007 Lola Aston from sixth after 38 minutes. Cioci gets back to the pitlane too and is pushed - or rather the #61 car is! GTE-Am is a three-car train now at the head of their field. 44 minutes in and after 30 laps Bernhard pits, fuel only. Montagny too, but the Peugeot takes tyres and McNish will be in next time around for fuel, tyres and the rear-end repair in the box. Bourdais pits - fuel and tyres too for the #7 car. McNish is back out and running 2:21 in the pits as opposed to 1:10 for the Peugeots and 49 seconds for Bernhard - He emerges close behind the #1 car and has lost a lap to his team-mate. The lead gap - #1 to #8 - is now around 21 seconds, while the delay to the #2 car has dropped it back into 7th. McNish though passes Moreau in the #15 Oak Pescarolo, up to sixth. Up to fourth meanwhile is Neel Jani, albeit 40 seconds back from the third placed Peugeot, as McNish closes in behind, dragging by the #24 Oak of Alex Premat. #94 seems not to be a retirement after all - the car looking set to rejoin imminently. Beretta takes the lead in GTE-Am, the Corvette going by Tim Mullen's CRS Ferrari on their 34th lap after 55 minutes of near nose-to-tail action in GTE Am.
Bruni pits after 56 minutes in the second placed #51 AF Corse 458 - Muller continues for another lap but there's a problem for the #51 car; a fuelling rig issue? No, it seems there might be a problem with the front left hand corner - Bruni rejoins almost exactly a lap down on Muller, but runs off at Turn 1 with the front left looking ill-seated. #51 gets out of the gravel, pits again and rejoins, but has lost two laps to the leaders; the Luxury 458s now running 1,2 but needing to pit. |
